The Scars, Reopened
by PhoebeLovesSouffle
Summary: "I want you," she said simply, "Not in the way people would think. I have Peeta, but that doesn't stop me from missing you. You're my best friend, and time will never change that." As he makes the journey through his and Katniss's old hunting grounds, Gale comes across somebody he never expected to see. But they both need to learn that moving on is the way forward for both of them.


**A/N: So hello everyone. Well… What can I say… It's a one shot about how Gale and Katniss finally break apart, Post Mockingjay. Basically Katniss makes the decision to leave Gale in her past, and he does the same. I own nothing. Please read and review, it's the thing that keeps me motivated to write!**

"Gale!" she shouted through the rain, her hoarse voice barely audible above the hammering of the raindrops on the forest canopies, "Gale!" He swiveled around, his brow creased. She edged forward, reacquainting herself with her old friend. But when she got there, he didn't acknowledge her presence. At least not yet.

The storm quenched the embers of anger that were beginning to ignite within her, that her old best friend, who she had shared most of her life with, was ignoring her. Cautiously, she crept up behind him, her shabby hunting jacket that held so many densely packed memories beneath the torn fabric not holding off the rain as well as she'd have hoped it to. But there was no way she'd replace it with one imported from the Capitol.

Why was _he_ here anyway? He had no need to be. He probably had a good job in one of the well-off Districts, a pretty girl and a spacious home, ready to start his own family and try to leave his troubled past behind, just as she was trying to do. With Peeta. But she could never forget, and hoped he would never either. Her childhood had shaped her, helping her to become the person she was today. And he was one of the most inspirational people that were part of it. Though she had expected that he had moved on by now.

He flinched as she tapped his shoulder, trying to ignore it but to no avail. He couldn't ignore her, not his Catnip. Even though she had Peeta now, who loved her in a way he never could, his thoughts often wandered, as he was curious to see how her life was spanning out. He had never loved her, but she was still his best friend. Nothing could change that.

"What do you want?" he spoke out, clear and unaffected, his voice rising out above the rain. His voice was so sweet and pure, reminding her of their hunting days, long gone but not forgotten, not ever.

"I want you," she said simply, "Not in the way people would think. I have Peeta, but that doesn't stop me from missing you. You're my best friend, and time will never change that."

"I didn't want this," he admitted, "I can't face the past. That's why I decided to move on, to get a job to focus my mind on something other than the past. I'm sorry if it came across badly. I never intended to come back here, you see. But my work commitments… They brought me here. And now I'm back, in the woods… Look Katniss, I'm never going to be eighteen again. You must understand that I've lost too much to look back fondly on my childhood…"

"But I can't forget," she pleaded, "I've lost too much, so I must look back to keep their memory alive. Poor sweet, Prim, feeling alien in the woods when we brought her here. Lady, the goat, how we suffered to get that goat, and how it provided for us… Even though I have Peeta, I still feel like something's missing." The tears started to fall, and never stopped coming. She never knew that memories could affect a person in this way.

"I need to move on," he retorted, sympathetically, "I can't spend my life looking back on things that have already happened. I can't spend my life in the woods, killing game just for the sake of it. Who would I provide for then?"

"I don't want you to hunt, Gale," she whimpered, like a wounded animal, "I just want to talk. Talk in a way that Peeta and I never could."

"Sorry, Katniss," he replied, vacantly, "I can't talk. It's too painful…" His eyes glazed over and he spun, in a daze, smiling manically.

"Gale?" she screamed, "Where have you gone? Don't leave me!"

"I've gone, Katniss," he replied, solemnly, "Gone to the past."

"Gale," she whispered, tears streaming down her face, "I believe you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being here, making you end up like this. Go, be free. I'm not stopping you, tying you back down to the place you came from. Spread your wings, like the birds we never could shoot. I have Peeta, you can have your life, your new life. I can tell you don't want this."

He smiled. "Catnip…" he breathed, dreamily, "You understand, don't you. You'll always be my best friend. I just want you to know, that all out friendship is based on now is the past, nothing more, and that's weak foundations for a friendship to be based on. We both need to be honest. We don't hunt anymore, and that was what brought us together. This is the best way, for both of us. You out of all people should know that life isn't a game."

"Goodbye Gale. Have a happy life."

"Catnip…" he called, before disappearing into the drizzly horizon of the forest, "Never forget me."

"No Gale," she smiled, at the bittersweet memories, "No. I never will."

**A/N: Just to make it clear, I own nothing. I'm just a FanFictioner who plays around with someone else's characters. Read and review?**_**  
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